The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 55,999 | 97.37% | 60,913 | 96.98% |
| Spanish | 676 | 1.18% | 1,180 | 1.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 769 | 1.34% | 630 | 1.00% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 0.05% | 71 | 0.11% |
| Other | 38 | 0.07% | 17 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 57,513 | 100.00% | 62,811 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 545 | 46.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 244 | 38.73% |
| Asian Language** | 20 | 28.17% |
| Other Language | 17 | 100.00% |
| Total | 826 | 1.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 264 | 39.05% |
| Other Indo-European* | 273 | 35.50% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 45.16% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 551 | 0.96% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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